July 17, 2007

Liberal prime minister John Howard announces a carbon trading scheme will be set up if he wins the 2007 federal election.

"Implementing an emissions trading scheme and setting a long-term goal for reducing emissions will be the most momentous economic decision Australia will take in the next decade," he tells ABC's AM program.

July 14, 2013

After returning to the prime ministership in June, Kevin Rudd again changes the Government's stance on carbon emissions, announcing it will "terminate" the carbon tax and move to an emissions trading scheme (ETS) in 2014 - a year earlier than planned.

It plans to remove the fixed carbon price of $24.15 a tonne, replacing it with a floating price of possibly $6-12 a tonne. Later in July, Mr Rudd says it will cost the budget $3.8 billion over the next four years.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott says the Government is not really abolishing the tax but merely changing its name.

June 25, 2014

Clive Palmer says his political party PUP will back the repeal of the carbon tax only if lower power prices for consumers are guaranteed "by law".

Making his announcement with former US vice-president and climate change campaigner Al Gore, Mr Palmer also reveals he wants an emissions trading scheme similar to the one proposed by former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd.

However, this would "only become effective once Australia's main trading partners also take action to establish such a scheme," he said.